But just as this thought occurred to him, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, and said, "Joseph, descendant of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for it is through the influence of the Holy Spirit that she has become an expectant mother.

and asked, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews? We saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him."

Then Herod, because he saw that a trick had been played on him by the stargazers, was very angry, and sent and slaughtered all the boy babies in Bethlehem and in all that neighborhood, from two years down, in accordance with the time which he had found out from the stargazers.

But because he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in the place of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go there; and because he was divinely warned in a dream, he set out for the region of Galilee.

He went to a town called Nazareth and made his home there, so that the saying of the prophet was fulfilled: "He shall be called a Nazarene."

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to escape from the wrath that is coming?

Produce, then, fruit that is consistent with the repentance you profess,

Now the axe is already lying at the roots of the trees. Every tree then that fails to bear good fruit is to be cut down and thrown into the fire.

I am baptizing you in water to picture your repentance. But He that is coming after me is stronger than I am, and I am not fit to carry His shoes. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire;

His winnowing-fork is in His hand, and He will clean out His threshing-floor and store His wheat in His barn, but He will burn up the chaff with fire that never can be put out."

But he answered, "The Scripture says, 'Not on bread alone can man live, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, He set out for Galilee.

The people that were living in darkness have seen a great light, and on those that were living in the land of the shadow of death; a light has dawned."

From that time Jesus continued to preach and say, "Repent! For the kingdom of heaven is near."

And as He was going on from that point, He saw two others, brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, getting their nets in order; and He called them.

You are the light of the world. A city that is built upon a hill cannot be hidden.

People do not light a lamp and put it under a peck-measure but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all that are in the house.

Let your light shine before people in such a way that they may see your good deeds, and praise your Father in heaven.

"Do not suppose that I have come to set aside the law or the prophets.

For I tell you that unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven at all.

"You have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You must not murder,' and 'Whoever murders will have to answer to the court.'

So if, in the very act of presenting your gift at the altar, you remember that your brother has something against you,

Be quick to come to terms with your opponent while you are on the road to court with him, so that he may not turn you over to the judge and the judge turn you over to the officer, and you be put in prison.

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman so as to have an evil desire for her at once has already committed adultery with her in his heart,

But I tell you that whoever divorces his wife for any other ground than unfaithfulness, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a wife who is thus divorced commits adultery.

"Again, you have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You must not swear falsely, but you must perform your oaths as a religious duty.'

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'

"You have heard that it was said, 'You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'

to prove that you are sons of your Father in heaven, for He makes His sun rise on bad as well as good people, and makes the rain come down on doers of right and of wrong alike.

For if you practice loving only those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even the tax-collectors practice that?

so that your deed of charity may be secret, and your Father who sees what is secret will reward you.

And whenever you pray, you must not keep on repeating set phrases, as the heathen do, for they suppose that they will be heard in accordance with the length of their prayers,

so that your fasting may be seen, not by men but by your Father who is unseen, and your Father who sees what is secret will reward you.

But if your eye is unsound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the very source of light in you is darkness, how dense is that darkness!

For the heathen are greedily pursuing all such things; and surely your heavenly Father well knows that you need them all.

"Stop criticizing others, so that you may not be criticized yourselves.

For exactly as you criticize others, you will be criticized, and in accordance with the measure that you give to others, it will be measured back to you.

How can you say to your brother, 'Let me get that tiny speck out of your eye,' while all the time there is a girder in your own?

"You must never give the things that are sacred to dogs, and you must never throw your pearls before hogs, for fear they might trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces.

"Go in by the narrow gate, for broad and roomy is the road that leads to destruction, and many are going in by it.

But narrow is the gate and hard is the road that leads to life, and few are they that find it.

Any tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and burned up.

Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, was it not in your name that we prophesied, and in your name that we drove out demons, and in your name that we did many wonder-works?'

And the rain fell, and the rivers rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, but it did not fall, for its pillars had been laid on a rocky foundation.

And the rain fell, and the rivers rose, and the wind blew and beat against that house, and it collapsed, and the wreck of it was complete."

When Jesus had closed this address, the result was that the crowds were dumbfounded at His teaching,

Then Jesus said to him, "See that you tell nobody, but go, show yourself to the priest, and, to testify to the people, make the offering that Moses prescribed."

Then Jesus said to the captain, "Go; it must be done for you as you have believed." And his servant-boy was cured that very hour.

And suddenly a furious storm came up, so that the boat was being covered over by the bursting billows, but He kept on sleeping.

When He reached the other side, in the district of Gadara, there faced Him two men, who were under the power of demons, who were just coming out from the tombs. They were such terrors that nobody could pass that way.

But to show you that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth" -- turning to the paralyzed man, He said to Him -- "Get up, pick up your bed, and go home."

And when He heard it, He said, "It is not well, but sick people that have to send for a doctor.

Go, learn what this means, 'It is mercy and not sacrifice that I want.' It is not upright but sinful people that I have come to invite."

And Jesus, on turning and seeing her, said, "Cheer up, my daughter! Your faith has cured you." And from that moment the woman was well.

And the news about her spread all over that country.

After He had gone into the house, and the blind men had gone up to Him, Jesus said to them, "Do you really believe that I can do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."

And their eyes received strength to see. Then Jesus sternly charged them, "See that nobody knows it."

But they went out and spread the news about Him all over that country.

But the Pharisees kept on saying, "It is by the help of the prince of the demons that He drives them out."

Then He called His twelve disciples to Him, and gave them authority over foul spirits, so that they could drive them out, and so that they could cure any disease or ailment.

And whoever will not welcome you, or listen to your words, on leaving that place shake off from your feet its very dust.

I tell you, the punishment on the day of judgment will be lighter for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

But when they turn you over to the courts, you must not worry at all about how or what you ought to speak, for it will be given you at that hour what you ought to speak.

For it is not you who are speaking, but the Spirit of your Father that is speaking through you.

So you must never be afraid of them, for there is nothing covered that will not be uncovered, nor a secret that will not be known.

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword.

But as they were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: "What did you go out into the desert to gaze at? A reed that is tossed to and fro by the wind?

If not, what did you go out there to see? A man dressed in silks and satins? No, people who dress in that way are found in the palaces of kings.

At that time Jesus said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for concealing these matters from wise and learned men, and for revealing them to little children.

Yes, Father, I thank You that Your good pleasure made it so.

At that time Jesus walked one sabbath through the wheat fields, and His disciples became hungry, and began to pull the heads of wheat and eat them.

And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Just look! Your disciples are doing something that it is against the law to do on the sabbath!"

Or, did you never read in the law that the priests in the temple break the sabbath, and yet are not guilty?

If you only knew what that saying means, 'It is mercy and not sacrifice that I want,' you would not have condemned men who are not guilty.

Then He said to the man, "Hold out your hand." And he held it out, and it was cured so that it became like the other.

At that time some people brought to Him a man under the power of demons, who was blind and dumb, and He cured him, so that the dumb man could talk and see.

But because He knew their thoughts, He said to them, "Any kingdom that is not united is in the process of destruction, and any city or family that is not united cannot last.

Or, how can anyone get into a giant's house and carry off his goods, unless he first binds the giant? After that he can make a clean sweep of his house.

You brood of vipers! How can you, wicked as you are, say anything that is good? For the mouth talks about the things that fill the heart.

So I tell you, for every worthless word that men utter they will have to give account on the day of judgment;

for it is by your words that you will be acquitted and by your words that you will be condemned."

"Then it goes and gets seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and make their home there, and so the end of that man is worse than the beginning. This is the way it will be with the wicked leaders of this age."

That same day Jesus went out of His house and was sitting on the seashore.

And the crowds that gathered about Him were so great that He got into a boat and remained sitting in it, while all the crowd stood on the seashore.

For this people's soul has grown dull, and with their ears they can scarcely hear, and they have shut tight their eyes, so that they will never see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn to me, so that I may cure them!'

When anyone hears the message of the kingdom and does not understand it, the wicked one comes and carries off the seed that was sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.

It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it is grown it is the largest of plants; yea, it grows into a tree, so that the wild birds come and roost in its branches."

"The kingdom of heaven is like a pot of gold which was buried in a field, which a man found and buried again; and for joy over it he went and sold all he had and bought that field.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was let down into the sea, and gathered fish of every kind,

He went to His own home town, and kept teaching in their synagogue in such a way that they were dumbfounded, and said, "Where did He get this wisdom and this power to do such wonder-works?

At that time Herod the governor heard the reports about Jesus,

and said to his attendants, "This is John the Baptist. He has risen from the dead, and that is why the powers are at work through him."

And the men of that place recognized Him, and sent into all the countryside and brought to Him all who were sick,

But He answered, "Why do you too break God's command for the sake of the rules that have been handed down to you?

But you say, 'Whoever tells his father or mother, "Everything I have that might be used for helping you, is devoted to God,"

It is not what goes into a man's mouth that makes him foul; no, it is what comes out of a man's mouth that makes him foul."

Then His disciples came up to Him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were knocked breathless to hear what you have just said?"

He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant must be rooted up.

Do you not understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and afterwards into the waste?

But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and they make the man foul.